A Little Fall of Rain
by StarryEyedChild
Summary: Syaoran waits anxiously to catch a glimpse of Sakura in the school courtyard. (S&S one shot) In celebration of Sakura's birthday. CLAMP's 15th anniversary. Please R&R!


Title: A Little Fall Of Rain  
  
Series: Cardcaptor Sakura (CLAMP)  
  
Characters: Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo.  
  
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and all of it's characters belong to the wonderful ladies of CLAMP as well as Kodansha. I do not own the series at all, capice?  
  
Author's Notes: This is just a sweet one-shot I dreamt up on April 1st 2004 in celebration of Sakura's birthday and CLAMP's anniversary. Ice cream, gift giving and a blushing Syaoran. What else could you ask for?  
  
"A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN"  
  
I sat. And waited.   
  
At precisely 12:03 'she' would come out the side doors of the school and make her way to the water fountain to sit and eat her homemade lunch with Daidouji. The two of them would bask in the Tomoeda sunshine and chatter on and on about schoolwork, their friends and boring things like cute stuffed animals and other girly things until Daidouji would discuss animatedly about her ideas for the new outrageous costumes she expected 'her' to wear. 'She' would, of course, blush and try to convince Daidouji that the help was appreciated, but the costumes weren't necessary.  
  
I sat. And waited.  
  
12:03 came and past. 'She' was nowhere in sight. I gave the school courtyard a quick once-over to see if I could find any sign of her, without any such luck.   
  
Then there she was. She came out of the doors alone this time. Her hair and uniform was a bit wet and I remembered that she had been late for class this morning and had gotten caught in the rain. She kept her large, green eyes glued to the ground as she finally made her way over to her spot at the fountain, sat down, and began to open her neatly wrapped lunch.  
  
I watched her with amazement. Daidouji was nowhere in sight. Where was she? It wasn't like the pair to separate at lunch hour. Was Daidouji ok? Did they have a fight? It was then that I remembered that Terada-sensei had told us that Daidouji was sick and wouldn't be joining us in class today but should be feeling better tomorrow.  
  
But should 'she' really look this upset and withdrawn over her friend's cold? Was there something else?  
  
'She' carefully unwrapped her cute, modest, homemade lunch and nibbled at the small pieces on sushi without taking much interest in it. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else.  
  
I clutched my own lunch in my left hand and the small, ivory-colored box in my right and remembered what Daidouji had told me a few days prior. Her exact words rang through my head like a bell:  
  
"Sakura-chan is oh-so very cute and wonderful. For such a special occasion you should do something nice for her. Then you can tell her exactly how you feel. She deserves to know."  
  
I gulped. It was now or never, only this time I didn't have Daidouji to give me that extra boost of confidence. Or rather, to "conveniently" leave me alone with 'her' so I could try to confess my feelings.  
  
She didn't even notice my presence until my shadow overlapped her own on the ground.   
  
"Syaoran-kun!" She said with a forced smile. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Would you… would you like to eat lunch with me?"  
  
I blushed, gave a few quick nods and sat next to her as stiff as a board, as if any sudden movement would set off a land mine.  
  
We both sat in silence. Each second that ticked by was echoed by the pounding of my heart. Its rhythmic drum-like pounding was so loud that if it were any louder, I'd swear she'd be able to hear it too.   
  
I sat. And waited.  
  
When I couldn't take the awkwardness anymore I decided to clear my throat and break the silence.  
  
"Uh… you… " I cleared my throat again.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
I turned as red as a tomato and stared at my feet.  
  
"You...you looked upset earlier."  
  
She looked at her own feet as well. "… Yeah."   
  
An uncomfortable silence surrounded us for the next few seconds; and every second that went by made my heart seem to pound harder and faster.   
  
I sighed. She obviously didn't want to talk about it, so I decided I wasn't going to pry. But as soon as I turned my attention to my lunch, I heard a faint sniffle beside me.  
  
She was crying.  
  
"Oh! Eh…um… are you… are you ok?" I quickly asked. "Are you sad because Daidouji is sick?"  
  
She smiled and blushed a bit out of embarrassment. "No," she shook her head and pushed a strand of honey-colored hair out of her eyes, "Well, I am, but Tomoyo-chan's absence is only part of the reason why I'm sad."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"Today just hasn't been a good day." She started, "I woke up late, I didn't get to see Otou-san before he left for his expedition, I didn't have enough time to see if Yukito was around on my way to school, I got caught in the rain, I was late for class, Tomoyo-chan is sick, Terada-sensei was upset with me, I hurt my knee in gym class and I didn't understand today's math problem."  
  
"…Oh." I didn't understand why she'd be so upset over such small, unimportant things. She would see her father when he returned, her uniform would dry, Daidouji would feel better tomorrow, her knee would heal and she'd understand the math problem sooner or later. She always did. I guess that's just part of being the sweet person she is. She's always worn her heart on her sleeve. It was almost enough to make my heart melt.  
  
"And this is why you're crying?" I asked.   
  
She poked a piece of sushi with her light pink chopstick. "Today was supposed to be special. Tomoyo-chan and I were going to go for ice cream after school to celebrate my birthday. So many things weren't supposed to go wrong."  
  
My heart sank. That's right. April 1st. It was her birthday. That's why I came to sit with her in the first place. The small box that sat on my lap suddenly felt like a load of bricks.  
  
I fidgeted nervously in my seat, looked around, cleared my throat again for good measure, anything to ease the tension and to delay the inevitable.  
  
I sighed. It was now or never.  
  
"Sakura."  
  
"Yes?" She turned to find the small, ivory-colored box shoved under her nose with a cherry-red face peering behind it with such determination.  
  
"Hoe?" She looked from the box, to me, and back to the box with confusion. "Is this for me?"  
  
Nod. Nod.  
  
"Really?"  
  
Nod. Nod.  
  
"Thank you so much!"  
  
She carefully opened the lid and breathed with amazement at what she found inside.   
  
"Syaoran-kun…"  
  
I stared at my feet again. "I…you… you… " I cleared my throat for the umpteenth time that day. "You gave your pin to Sasaki when hers turned out to be the Sword. So I thought… you… uhh…I…"  
  
"Syaoran-kun!" Her green eyes sparkled with joy as she lifted a small, white, egg-shaped pin with tiny golden wings on either side from its box, "It's so pretty!"  
  
She smiled at me with such happiness, such intensity that my face felt like it shared the temperature of a thousand, blazing suns. Before I knew it, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.   
  
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I love it! I'll treasure it always, Syaoran-kun, always! I promise!"   
  
She sniffled, pulled away from me and began to wipe fresh tears from her eyes with her hand.   
  
"Eh?! What's wrong? You're… you're crying! Why are you still sad?" I rambled as I searched through my pockets for my handkerchief, "I thought-…"  
  
She shook her head and beamed at me. "No, I'm happy." She took my blue handkerchief from me and dabbed it at the corner of her eyes. "It just made my birthday 100% better."  
  
She may not have guessed it judging by the expression on my face, but every cell, every molecule, and every teeny tiny spec of my entire being was beaming with pride. I kicked a dirt clod, slumped in my seat and sighed to make sure I kept my classic "Syaoran is a tough guy" image. Unfortunately, she knew the one thing to do to make all thoughts of acting tough and rugged disappear in an instant.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, thank you." She said as she leaned over to plant a small peck on my jawbone. "This makes me so happy because now I know that we're really friends."  
  
As if on cue, I blushed from head to toe.   
  
"Well, I …" I couldn't help it. I finally gave in and smiled into her eyes "You're welcome."  
  
She smiled back, and after a few silent seconds between us she jumped to her feet, took one of my hands in hers and beamed.   
  
"Hey! I have an idea!" She chirped "Why don't you come with me instead?"  
  
"Come with you…?" I repeated. I didn't quite understand.  
  
"After school. Since Tomoyo-chan isn't here Syaoran-kun can come with me to get ice cream instead!"   
  
"I…" I stammered as my mind raced to process the information it had just been given. "Me? With yo-…"  
  
"I'll even pay for you! I don't mind!" She released my hand and started to skip toward the building just in time to hear the school bells crime. Just before she entered the school, her pigtailed head whipped around:  
  
"I'll meet you at the gates after class, Syaoran-kun!" She called over her shoulder before entering the school.  
  
And with that, she was gone.  
  
I quickly gathered up my leftovers from lunch and made my way to the school entrance as well. Before I went in I felt a small drop of rain on my nose, smiled, and made a mental note to take my umbrella home with me.  
  
~Fin 


End file.
